St. Jerome Institute opened its doors Sept. 1 in Fairfax County, Va., with 21 ninth and 10th graders from 20 families. One of the founding parents argues the Catholic school fills a gap in the Washington-area high school market by offering a distinctly different approach.
Over 80% of families in the Washington area send their children to public high school because it is free, convenient, and often matches or exceeds private schools academically and athletically. About 10% choose private high schools for better academics, a safer and more disciplined school culture, or exposure to dysfunction and chaos in classrooms during the pandemic.
Virginia does not yet offer a universal education savings account option like other states have adopted. That gap is part of what made Fairfax County ready for something different.
The Seminar Method
The school’s teaching method is the heart of its pitch. Students sit and face one another, led by a teacher in discussion. The model is called the seminar method, and faculty spend every couple of weeks in seminars on literature, theology, philosophy, math, and science, with students released early for these days.
Teachers are hired for humility, charity, and a desire to grow in their faith lives. That last requirement is not a joke — it is stated as the standard.
Curriculum and Design
The curriculum runs heavy on Western classics. Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, and Dostoevsky all show up. Science subjects are integrated across grades, with biology, chemistry, and physics taught together each year.
Art and music are not electives but core to the curriculum. The school is small by design, with enrollment expected to peak at around 150 students across grades.
| Feature | Approach |
|---|---|
| Teaching method | Seminar: discussion-led, students facing each other |
| Science instruction | Biology, chemistry, physics taught together each year |
| Arts | Core, not electives |
| Enrollment | Expected peak of around 150 students |
Who Chooses Private Schools
Families who opt out of public schools cite several reasons:
- Better academics
- A safer and more disciplined school culture
- Exposure to dysfunction and chaos in classrooms during the pandemic
Some describe classrooms during the pandemic as chaotic. The 10% figure matters because it sets the market St. Jerome is entering. A small, Catholic school in a county where public education is both free and competitive has to offer something distinct to pull families away.
The Virginia Gap
Virginia’s lack of a universal education savings account means families without those funds face higher costs. St. Jerome is positioned as a direct answer to that gap. A Catholic school with a defined mission, a defined method, and a defined size — 20 founding families, 21 ninth graders, 10th graders — is a small start.
Why Fairfax Needed Something Different
Fairfax County has a strong public school system. That strength is precisely why a new Catholic school had to be different. Families who want something distinct now have one option that fits their criteria.
The school’s approach is not a lecture hall. It is a room where students and teachers talk together, where arts and sciences sit side by side, and where the reading list spans centuries of Western thought. For families who want that combination, St. Jerome offers a distinct path.
That is the bet the school is making. Whether it pays off depends on whether families see the seminar method, the classics, and the small size as enough reason to change their plans.
Source material: “Innovation, pioneers, and a new Catholic school: Why Fairfax County needed something different,” the Washington Examiner.
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